You Think You Know...But (pt. 21)

Justice had arrived at the party in the mood to have a good time.  He made the rounds speaking to some high school classmates before running into Nikki.  After all these years she was still beautiful, even if she were just a little bit tipsy.  She was very touchy feely, as she ran her hands over him so quickly that it seemed that she had turned into an octopus with all eight tentacles working at the same time.  She wrapped herself around one of his massive arms and instructed him to escort her to the dance floor, where they proceeded to have a short dancing session which mainly consisted of Nikki grinding her behind on him in a manner that was anything but lady like.  She quickly became either bored or tired or just a little bit of both, so it wasn’t long before she instructed her proclaimed escort to walk her to her table.  She stumbled a couple of times before the two of them finally made it to their final destination.

Nikki amused Justice.  She always had, he reasoned, that she always would.  She was more beautiful than any women he knew but just as insecure.  She was high spirited and outgoing but still she was reserved and secluded.  She had the heart to stand up to anyone but the same heart made her so venerable when dealing with the man she loved.  She was like a rose with thorns that were bigger than the petals they were trying to protect.  At times she was so loud without even saying a word when other times her mouth was going a mile a minute with nothing coming out.  She was worth millions but her self worth was penniless.  He could only describe her as Nikki so that was the only way he did.

Nikki had made it clear on several occasions that the two of them should have been together and if not for certain circumstances, they probably would have been; however, they had never gotten the opportunity to date.   Nikki and her brother had grown up in a very exclusive community, having gone to private schools and such, so it was only after rooming with Velle in college did he have the pleasure of meeting her.  By that time, she was already stomping the runways of Paris and Milan, so he was sure there was no chance for the two of them; but yet, she had always clung to him as if he belonged to her and her alone.  She had also been the root of many a problem between him and a couple ex-girlfriends.  There was always a little spark between them, but just not a big enough one to ignite the flame of passion that would definitely burn between them under the right circumstances.  Still, she would call him to have conversations that he was sure Ricardo wouldn’t approve of, and he would say things to make her feel wanted, which he imagined was the only reason she would even think to pick up the phone to call him.   Besides his infatuation with Nikki was just that, an infatuation.  His heart truly ached for the one woman he could never have.  He sat at the table with the twins and their important guest, who he figured were either business partners or employees of one or more of their companies, enjoying the atmosphere of celebration.  


By this time, it was eleven o’clock and there was still no sign of Monique, which was leading Velle to believe that he had been stood up on his birthday.  He tried not to think about it too much as he tried to engage himself in conversations with other members of his party.  He was also trying to keep his eye on his sister, who by this time, was fully taken by the sweet seduction of alcohol.  In other words, she was flat out drunk, evident by her love for everyone that got within two feet of her.  She laughed with glee, all the while, never letting go of Justice, who didn’t seem to mind that she had placed herself on his lap.  She had her arms thrown around his neck, and every time she would finish a new proclamation she would bury her face in his neck or whisper something in his ear.  Velle decided it was about time that he started enjoying his own party so he got up and made his way to the dance floor.

Just as he was about to approach a woman standing by the bar, he caught sight of the woman he had been waiting to see, out of the corner of his eye.  She was absolutely stunning.  Wearing a form fitting knee length black dress, every curve of her body was accentuated and they were deadly.  She finally had all of her hair down, which was a big change from the usual ponytail or bun she wore on a day-to-day basis.   She wore makeup but not enough to mask her natural beauty.  Everything about her was perfect and just the sight of her took Velle’s breath away.
 He couldn’t get to her fast enough, as he excused himself through the crowd in an attempt to reach her.  “Well, it’s about time you showed up.  I see you don’t have the same party ethic as your work ethic,” he said, upon reaching her.  

She didn’t seem to find the humor in his little joke, in fact, she seemed somewhat put off by it.  Her face appeared angry.  Had his remark really been that bad?  She looked right pass him as she did a thorough scan of the room before returning her attention to him asking, “Have you seen Ross and Sterling?  Are they here yet?”

Her voice was so filled with such urgency that he dared not to hesitate in giving her an answer, “Yeah, Sterling is still here but I think Ross left with some girl like an hour ago.  He said he was leaving anyway.  Why what’s going on?”  She had started back surveying the room for any sign of her cousins, so he doubted if she had heard a word he had just said. “Well, there goes that,” he thought to himself as he too started to look around for signs of Sterling and Ross.

“Nothing,” Monique finally responded to his question.  She was on a mission to let her cousins, who were more like brothers to her, know what had just happened to their sister.  

“Heeeey Velle.  Happy Birthday!”  Robin squealed as she pushed pass Monique to give Velle a hug.  She kissed him on the cheek before wrapping one arm around his waist.  She continued, “We would have been here sooner but Bootylicious here was trying to get extra sexy.  Oh, and you remember Lauren.” Monique’s bottom jaw almost hit the floor when she heard that lie fall from her cousin’s lips.  Robin had always been able to remain composed, even when she was hiding something.  She had blamed their tardiness on Monique without even batting an eye.  She continued, “I know it’s your birthday but where’s my drank?”

“I’ve got it waiting in the V.I.P. for you.” Velle replied with a smile, happy that someone seemed to want to be there.  He extended his arm to Robin, which she gladly wrapped herself around so that he could escort her to his table.  The two laughed as they made their way to the table where he pulled a seat out for her.  Monique immediatly regretted the cold reception she had given Velle.  If it weren't for that and Robin's quick tongue, she'd be the one on his arm.

Monique was completely dumbfounded by Robin’s behavior.  Her husband had just slapped her, less than an hour ago and here she was laughing it up with Velle, as if nothing had happened.  Monique pulled her own chair out before she could get any assistance from Velle, taking the seat closest to her cousin.  The music was loud and the conversations surrounding their table were joyous, but Monique was more concerned with getting to the bottom of her cousin’s demeanor.  It was time to go to the room that all ladies went to have impromptu meetings during an event or party.  The ladies room.  
 

“I’ve have to go the bathroom,” Monique shouted over the music to Robin before getting up to actually make her way there.  Since every woman knows the unwritten rules of the restroom etiquette, both Robin and Lauren got up to accompany Monique through the crowd, to the ladies room without so much as a question to why they needed to come with her.  The ladies were completely shocked to find the powder room completely empty, which is extremely rare for a nightclub restroom.  Lauren, who discovered that she really did have to make use of the facilities, hurried into one of the open stalls to handle business while the two cousins started a conversation in front of the mirrors.

“What the hell is wrong with you? I thought we were going to tell Ross and Sterling about Jay hitting you.” Monique said staring at her cousin’s reflection in the mirror.

“For what?” Robin replied as she separated a few curls in her hair.  She gave herself a complete look over and smiled as she noticed that Jay’s weak ass hadn’t left one mark on her. Initially, she had expected her face to be red or swollen; however, there was nothing, not even a scratch.

“What do you mean, for what?” Monique puzzled. Shock planted squarely on her face as she continued, “I know you aren’t just going to let Jay get away with putting his hands on you.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t we just stomp his ass out? I do recall seeing a bloody nose.” Robin responded without taking her eyes off her own reflection in the mirror.

“Yes, you did!” Lauren called from inside her stall. Laughing as she continued, “Girl, we whipped his ass! That was good to me!”

“And me too!” Robin giggled in agreement as Lauren emerged from the stall.  She continued as Lauren made her way over to the sink to wash her hands, “Girl, I went back to my 808 Posse days for a minute.  Stomping that fool out was starting to give me flashbacks.  We used to stomp out anybody...dudes...bitches.  It ain't even matter.”

“What’s wrong with you two?  This isn’t funny. If you aren’t going to tell your brothers then you should at least call the police. Domestic abuse is a seriuos crime and should be treated like one."  Monique said visibly upset by how lightly Robin and Lauren seemed to be taking the situation with Jay.  

But her last comment took all of the fun out of the moment for both Robin and Lauren, causing Robin to reply, “Call the police and say what? This asshole slapped me so my friends and I stomped his ass out.  Can you please come take him to jail, but don’t arrest us because we’re girls.  What the fuck, Mo?  Will you listen to yourself?”

“For real,” Lauren said, “I work at a bank and the last thing I need is an assault charge. Besides, why is it that every time a dude puts his hands a woman, she has to play damsels in distress waiting for someone to save her.  I think we handled the situation like true certified independent women.  You don't need a Captain Sav-a-hoe when you Queen Beat-a-Bastard.  I mean, I ain't trying to fight no man, but I'm not bout to let one beat me either.  Don't you remember what Sophia told Celie. 'I loves Hoppo...God knows I do, but I'll kill him dead before I let him beat me!  Girl, those are words I live by.”

“Amen! Anyway, I’m not surprised he reacted the way he did.”  Robin said to which made both Lauren and Monique give her a look a disbelieving disgust.  She continued, not able to look at herself in the mirror as she said, “I mean, I did just tell the man that his baby girl ain’t his.  How did you expect him to act?  Hell if the tables were turned I would have done the same thing or something much worse.” Neither of them said another word, as there was really nothing else to say and right at that moment Nikki stumbled through the bathroom door.  

She stumbled over to Robin placing her arms around her neck while laying her head on her shoulder she said, “Oh my God... Justice is so damn fine!  Girl, please tell me that the two of you are not together.”

“Ewwww.  That’s like my brother.” Robin replied smiling at the sight of an inebriated Nikki.

“Ew? What do you mean, ew? That boy is gorgeous. Let me just tell you, sister girl, we…us…you and me.  We picked the wrong ones. If I could go back (hiccup) go back in time…woo.  Me and that boy would be married with a whole bunch of babies.”  Nikki slurred, her attention jumping from one person to the next.

“Well, what’s stopping you now? You’re about not to be married and he isn’t even dating anyone right now and we all know he’s destined for greatness.”  Robin fueled the fires starting to burn within Nikki’s inebriated mind.

“You…are…RIGHT! Hot damn!  Cause I been sitting on his lap all night long and girls let me tell ya...he got a big ass dick...I'mma get me some of that tonight bitches...you know since y'all aint together.  It’s on! Right after I go to this bathroom. Y’all wait for me, so I don’t have to be in here by myself.” Nikki pleaded before running into the same stall Lauren had just exited moments before.  They wanted to sneak out on her but girl’s law said that they had to wait so that no girl had to go alone.  After Nikki had finished using the bathroom and freshened her face and hands, the ladies exited the bathroom and made their way back to their table.